退 (tuì) is a Chinese character meaning “to move back”. It is written from 辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 艮 (gèn — Kangxi radical 138; the trigram for mountain, also "stubborn"), one enclosing the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to retreat; to move back”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
辶 + 艮
Enclosing structure
- 辶 walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò) · chuò meaning
- 艮 gèn — Kangxi radical 138; the trigram for mountain, also "stubborn" · gèn unknown
Structure from: IDS 拆分 ⿺辶艮，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–5 为「艮」，笔画 6–8 为「辶」（点、横折折撇、平捺）
Memory aid
A stubborn mountain (艮) sits on the road (辶). You cannot walk through it, so you turn around and step back — 退, to retreat.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 后退hòu tuìto move back; to retreat退 = tuì
- 退出tuì chūto quit; to exit; to withdraw from退 = tuì
- 退却tuì quèto retreat; to pull back; to shrink from退 = tuì
- 衰退shuāi tuìto decline; to fall off; recession退 = tuì
Go deeper
All readings
to retreat; to move back
to move back; to retreat; to withdraw from; to return (something); to recede or fade
向后移动；离开或退出；退还；减退。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 后退hòu tuìto move back; to retreat退 = tuì
- 退出tuì chūto quit; to exit; to withdraw from退 = tuì
- 退却tuì quèto retreat; to pull back; to shrink from退 = tuì
- 衰退shuāi tuìto decline; to fall off; recession退 = tuì
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 退 mean?
退 (tuì) means to move back; to retreat; to withdraw from; to return (something); to recede or fade.
How do you pronounce 退?
It is pronounced tuì.
What parts is 退 made of?
辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 艮 (gèn — Kangxi radical 138; the trigram for mountain, also "stubborn"), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: IDS 拆分 ⿺辶艮，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–5 为「艮」，笔画 6–8 为「辶」（点、横折折撇、平捺）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 退 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 退?
辶. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 退?
Common ones are 后退, 退出, 退却. The reading of 退 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.